What Louis Litt Did (Or Lack thereof)
by Agent H.E.R.O
Summary: When Louis comes in one morning beaten up, Harvey and Donna want to figure out who did it. But all is not as it seems. What is Louis hiding. Set before Season 2 but after Season 1. Rated T for swear words and violence in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I just caught up with the Suits season 3 episodes and I have fallen in love with Louis. I especially like the relationship between Louis and Harvey. Will be a two-shot. Please read and review!

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Louis Litt was not notoriously known for being the nicest, or even the best lawyer at Pearson Hardman. It was not a secret that he and Harvey had it out daily, as regular as his alarm in the morning. The one thing that everyone knew was that lawyers from Pearson Hardman dressed in rich clothes, and rarely got into physical fights. So when a certain Louis Litt walked into work with one swollen black eye, a split lip, and an obvious broken nose people stopped in their tracks to look. He walked fast to his office, remembering the old days when he first started and got into fights with the lawyer upstairs. He strode past Donna, ignoring her open mouth and her stunning new outfit. He opened his brief case, digging into work, trying to put aside that feeling in the pit of his stomach about the rumors that would spread, the hurtful words waiting for him right outside his relatively small office, and the accusatory looks of his fellow coworkers because honestly, he probably had it coming.

"Did you see Louis' face?"

Harvey didn't even glance up, "I try not to see something so disgusting before lunch,"

Donna tilted her head, and perched on the corner of Harvey's desk.

"He looks like he got the shit beat out of him,"

Harvey kept flipping through the stack of paper, his pen making marks every so often. The room was quiet except for them talking. The sun shone outside, the light filtering through the huge windows.

"It was bound to happen,"

She heaved a sigh before going back to her desk. She watched for Louis to walk by with some new problem or conversation starter but he didn't. He stayed locked away in his office. By lunchtime, a swirling pain blossomed right behind Louis' left swollen eye. He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his inflamed right cheekbone. He wouldn't be eating today, too much movement for his sore face. He buzzed for Norma, telling her to bring in a bottle of Tylenol. Harvey was the last person he expected to see.

Harvey could honestly say he didn't care about Louis. He was, however, quite bored, and Louis would provide a perfect distraction. Waltzing by Norma without a word, he entered the office seeing how long the other man would take to notice him. He analyzed Louis. The balding lawyer pinched the bridge of his nose, his one good eye closed tightly and his busted nose scrunched up awkwardly. His right cheek seemed twice the size it normally was and his hand holding the pen wouldn't stop shaking.

Harvey cleared his throat, rolling his eyes as Louis wondered how he got in there.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Louis closed his right eye slowly before scribbling a note.

"None of your business,"

Harvey angled his neck sideways and laid both hands on the desk, bringing his face inches from Louis'.

"You come in here looking like crap, you think clients won't notice? You don't think everyone will be talking about the lawyer who looks like he was drug out in the street and beat to a bloody pulp? When you introduce yourself, you are introducing the entire firm and I don't want people thinking that our lawyers normally get beaten under any circumstances,"

Louis moved his bottom jaw, licking his upper teeth as he did so.

"You know that I-"

He faltered, "that I don't normally look like this,"

Harvey's lips twitched upward in that characteristic half grin.

"Tell me what happened then,"

Louis pushed his chair back, putting distance between the two of them. The cinnamon air freshener irritating his head ache.

"Some guy jumped me, okay? No big deal,"

"Did you call 911?"

Louis grinned, "Yeah they would've really caught a guy at night in a black hoody with a belt,"

Harvey's face fell at that last part. His eyes narrowed before leaning closer.

"A belt? You don't mean-"

Harvey's fresh scent rolled off his clothes, mixing with the air freshener. He was close enough that Louis could see where the other man nicked himself shaving that morning.

"It's no big deal, don't you have a case to be working on anyway?"

Harvey stood up, rocking on his heels.

"It's lunch break, come eat with me,"

In all the years that they'd worked in the same firm, not once did Harvey invite Louis to eat with him. Until today.

He shook his head and immediately regretted the action placing his hand on his forehead, as if it could stop the pulsing migraine and spinning room.

"I can't-"

"Come on Louis!"

"No, I physically can't. My cheek bones can't handle anymore abuse,"

Harvey looked Louis up and down, "maybe you should take the rest of the day off,"

Louis tapped the file in front of him and tried raising his eyebrows, which didn't work.

"Sitting here or at home, it really doesn't matter. I'm just working on paper work,"

Harvey went to leave, his footfalls silent on the carpet.

"Okay stay, but Donna will find out what happened sooner or later,"

The threat resounded in the air as Norma came in with his bottle of Tylenol.


	2. Chapter 2

The third day after his beating, his black eye was fading to a yellowish green. The swelling had gone down too due to the long nights with ice covering the affected areas. Donna still stared at him as if waiting to pounce on the latest gossip. But Louis was still shaken from that accident. Harvey noticed the way he lowered himself into the chair with a slight wince when meeting with a client. He hadn't talked to him much since the offered lunch date. Mike even noticed. The first year associate was handing in some papers when he casually, very subtly, asked what happened. Louis just sighed, dragged a hand across his face and asked him to leave. By the end of the week he was the talk of the office, not in the good way. There were theories now, that an ex lover tried to kill him, that a client got aggressive or that he got into a fight with Harvey, and Harvey won. Uncharacteristically, Louis ignored all of them. He stopped giving his associates speeches, and stopped cornering Jessica. It was that Friday when the managing partner came to him, in an odd reversal of roles.

"Is everything okay?"

Her fingertips brushed the surface of his desk. He wouldn't meet her gaze, instead lifting the pen and making wide strokes where pieces should be crossed off.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

She put her hand on the paper in front of his pen, black locks falling into his view.

"Because you've been hiding in your office for the past week looking like a human punching bag. You haven't questioned me about any of these clients and you haven't tried to undermine Harvey. Something I should know about?"

He looked up then, a half smile gracing his lips.

"Has my work been satisfactory?"

She tilted her head.

"Yes-"

"Then I don't see the problem,"

She scoffed and went to look out his windows at the city lurking below.

"The problem? People are talking. I don't like it when they talk about my lawyers, especially one of my best."

To say she was shocked when Louis didn't answer would be an understatement. He stared at his computer, his right forefinger clicking on the mouse. She could smell his clean aftershave. She noticed his rosemary plant on the desk. The room felt chilly as if someone forgot to heat this one room.

"Louis?"

He blinked his eyes, forgetting that she was there and then swiveled his chair to face her.

"Yes?"

She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest like dealing with a toddler. Her entire posture suggested she wasn't open for discussion, she just wanted explanations.

"You're taking the weekend off. No papers, no client calls, no nothing,"

Then added, "or you could tell me what's going on,"

His eyes grew wide as if she just kicked his kitty. He moved slowly, as if encased by jello. He picked up his briefcase and shoved a few files, just the necessary ones, his phone, his wallet, and keys sliding into the leather bag.

"The one time I'm asking you to talk to me and you have nothing to say?"

He fell back into his chair, his breath escaping in a whoosh.

"I'm just tired,"

Rain started to fall, hitting the panes with a small plunk plunk plunk. The heat turned on, warmth filling the office. They stared at each other for a minute, neither one willing to budge. He felt a smooth nickel in his pocket, the metal reassuringly cold against his sweaty palm. She lowered her eyelids, and walked to the door.

"Being tired doesn't give you bruises and scrapes. By Monday you better be over whatever this thing is."

That was the perfect start to his morning. While walking to the elevator Donna sidled up to him.

"Going somewhere Louis?"

He threw his head back and looked at the ceiling, as if praying to God.

"I'm taking the weekend off,"

He pressed the elevator button, the usual office chattering sounding around them.

"Where are you going?"

"To the ballet,"

He set down his briefcase, his left hand pulling on his right cuff, trying, and failing to ignore Donna. She plastered a big smile on her face and touched his elbow.

"I'm free this weekend,"

Louis picked his suitcase back up, smelling her citrus lotion.

"I don't have an extra ticket, sorry,"

Her eyebrows furrowed, her lips pouted.

"But-"

"I'll see you Monday Donna,"

And with that he was gone in the elevator.

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He downed two Tylenol pms and fell asleep to the tv infomercial at noon. In his dream he was stuck in that alleyway. Stuck with that man who made him feel so physically and mentally horrible that he could barely stand himself. He tasted the mud in his mouth, felt the belt whip his back and the punches that stole his breath. He fumbled with his wallet, holding it out in front. The man kicked the hand and instead lifted him off the ground.

"Do you even remember me?"

His teeth glittered in the moonlight. They were so perfect, white, and sharp like shark's teeth. He rocked his brain for a name for a semblance of who in the world this shark man could be. When the answer wasn't forthcoming he shoved Louis against the brick wall. He let him slide to the ground, the white shirt underneath stained a brownish red. The attacker shoved a picture into Louis' face depicting a middle-aged woman with brown hair.

"She killed herself last night,"

Louis didn't say anything, he couldn't. He spit out a tooth, the metallic taste of blood rushing his mouth.

"Because you were suing her for more than she could pay,"

The man added an extra kick for good measure. Louis looked up to the stars, trying to ignore the screams and the spittle flying from the other man's mouth. He remembered this woman. She embezzled money from her company and the company promptly sued her. He had personally handled the case, being good with numbers and all. Was he implying that he killed her?

"We were supposed to get married!"

He hit him with the belt one more time, the metal part colliding with his collar bone. He yelped and cuddled against the wall. Then he heard the crying, the agonized sobs that escaped the attacker's lips.

"She was pregnant, it was going to be so beautiful."

The world was starting to fade in and out for Louis. He couldn't tell if it was the natural night getting darker or if he had a concussion. The man shoved Louis upright and shook him hard.

"Do you understand? You have ruined my life and killed two people,"

"What do you want from me?"

He gasped, his head lolling sickeningly to his chest.

"I want you to live with this for the rest of your life. I won't kill you yet, but if you call the police I will tear your fat head off your pudgy neck without a moment's thought,"

He threw Louis across the alleyway and left, the faint sound of footsteps the last thing he heard before passing out.

He woke up drenched in sweat, on the floor, blankets tangled around his ankles. Someone was knocking at the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: This is the final chapter! WARNING It deals a lot with suicide. Thank you for reading!

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Harvey was angry. Harvey was smoke coming out of the ears angry because a certain lawyer had left work early, during which Jessica pushed his cases off on Harvey, and he sure as hell wasn't going through ten extra cases. He didn't care how sick, how upset Louis was, he was not going to pull his weight.

"Louis, open this door before I break it!"

The junior partner ran to the door, a hand covering his rapidly beating heart. Harvey stepped in the door way, placing the papers on the ground and starting to yell at Louis before he saw the casual attire-the grey sweatpants, and the white t-shirt.

"Are you okay?"

Sweat beads rolled down Louis's face, his shoulders trembled and his breathing was shallow. He slid down the wall, like that night only a few days ago. He felt Harvey's hand go to his wrist and after a moment a curse escaped his lips.

"You need to calm down, take some deep breaths with me. Ready, inhale through the nose, one, two, three, hold, now exhale through the mouth, one, two, three, four, five. Good, keep going,"

It continued that way for five minutes, Harvey holding Louis's wrist, two fingers on his pulse while Louis lay against the wall, his clouded eyes slowly clearing, the pulse rate dropping to a healthy level. Harvey stared at Louis as he got up off the floor. The files stacked on a pile on the carpet.

"What's going on?"

He poured two drinks from the refrigerator.

"I killed two people,"

Harvey was still crouching on the floor, his eyes never leaving Louis. He put a hand on the pile of papers as he straightened out his legs.

"What?"

Louis sat down at one of his kitchen stools, his drink cold with condensation running down the side of the glass.

"When that man jumped me, he told me I killed his wife and their unborn child because of my lawsuit. The wife took her own life,"

Harvey raised an eyebrow…

And he laughed.

"When have the repercussions of your lawsuits ever affected you?"

Louis swallowed once, the glass now shaking in his hands.

"But, I never thought I'd kill anybody,"

Harvey placed a hand on Louis's shoulder now noticing how upset he was.

"You didn't kill anyone. If she decided to kill herself then that was her prerogative,"

Louis stared down at his black granite counter top. Harvey walked around the island and picked up his drink, taking a long swig.

"Even if you didn't file that lawsuit there's no guarantee that she would've lived anyways,"

Louis laid his head in his hands, feeling his sweaty palms against his chin.

"Look, you're deceitful, you're devious and you're a two-timing son of a bitch, but you're not a killer,"

Harvey finished his drinks and left the papers on the floor, slamming the door behind him.

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Louis got through all of the files, giving his brain something else to do other than focus on his current problem. He felt the paper slide through his hands, and heard the heater in his apartment turn on. He clicked the tv on, grateful for the background noise. Harvey's words still echoed in his ears like a bad after taste. She might not have lived anyways right? Or was he just trying to justify his selfish job during which he ploughed people over for every cent they had. But how else was he supposed to make a living? Harvey was right, he had to move on. He put his head down on the couch pillow, glancing at the night sky through his huge living room window. He couldn't bring this lady back to life, but he could help those who suffered from suicidal thoughts.

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The next day Louis came into work in a black suit. The swelling on his cheek was almost completely gone and his black eye was only slightly visible. It was half way through lunch when Jessica came in, lowering herself into one of his client chairs.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, keep up the good work,"

Louis smiled and clicked on his email seeing a new message pop up that read,

_**Thank you for donating to the suicide prevention foundation. Your payment has been received**_


End file.
